Croc hunt and fishkill

It’s a cold, misty morning and a large crowd has already gathered at the sub-post-office in Kasa village, Dahanu taluka, Palghar district in Maharashtra. In one corner of the post-office compound I saw Gajari Anya Dhangad clutching her life savings of four 500-rupee notes and a tattered copy of her Aadhar card. Next to her, shivering with fever was her daughter-in-law, whom she had brought to Kasa to be treated. Living in the remote hamlet of Dongripada she had no idea of the upheaval of demonetisation in the country. It was only when the doctors in Kasa refused to take her money that she knew that something had to be done.

I helped her fill the form and submit it at the counter. It was almost two in the afternoon when the postmaster arrived with a bundle of new notes. He agreed to a request that Gajari be given the money first as she had to go to the doctor. She clutched her new ₹2,000 note and left the post-office.

Kasa has two banks, Bank of Maharashtra and the Thane Co-operative Bank, but the latter had closed operations. This meant more crowds at the sub-post-office and the only other bank.

People were spending an entire day waiting for money, only to be told to return the next day.

Ladkya, a daily wage construction labourer, looked dejected when the postmaster announced that the money had run out. He had already lost that day’s wage waiting in the line and now faced the prospect of losing a second day’s income too. He had no money to take a bus back to his village, about 10 km from Kasa. He prepared himself for the long walk home.

As Ladkya walked into the sunset, one of the persons hanging around at the post-office remarked in local Hindi, “ Magarmach ko pakadne ke liye , talab khali karen toh sab machli khatam ho jayenga (If you drain the lake to catch a crocodile, all the fish will be finished).”

With no money in the banks, and other establishments refusing to take old notes, farmers are worried about the crops they have sown for the Rabi season. They cannot buy fertilisers or pesticides, and the unexpected cold wave in Maharashtra has caused quite a few pests to appear. The farmers face a bleak season ahead if things do not improve soon.

Entrepreneurs too are at their wits’ end. Sandeep Pawde, who has a roaring brick kiln business, is worried as no builder is buying his product. He even offered them credit but they are least interested. He is worried about the money he has invested in making the bricks.

As I left the post-office after changing my old note, I spotted Gajari and her daughter-in-law sitting by the roadside. She was in despair — no doctor was willing to give her change for ₹2,000. The local grocer was willing to give her change provided she bought provisions for at least ₹500, which she did not want or need. With no solution in sight, I gave her ₹50 and guided her to the nearest government hospital, where they would at least treat the poor ill woman. I wondered how many more fish would be killed before the crocodiles were caught.

The writer is an organic farmer based in Dahanu, Maharashtra

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